US Role In World Affairs II

In this second semester of the full-year International Fellows course, “The Role of the U.S. in the World, II” students will be introduced to the challenges confronting the 47th American president at the start of his/her term and will follow the first 100 days of the new U.S. administration, along with international reaction to Washington’s policies.  Each week, the class will discuss current geostrategic and global challenges and opportunities for the U.S., and wrestle with the policy choices under consideration.  This will include following U.S. relations with Russia, Russia’s war in Ukraine, competition and the potential for conflict with China, a roiling Middle East, and U.S. relations with rising and hedging states and democratic backsliders.  The class will also cover the policy challenges presented by rapid advances in technology; a global economy which is trending more towards competition than cooperation; and the interlinked issues of climate change, the energy transition, food insecurity and record-breaking levels of global migration.  The goal is to put students in the minds of U.S. policymakers as they grapple with complex international leadership problems, alliance management, congressional and budgetary challenges and the need to work with countries around the world who are skeptical of or hostile to US leadership. The class will also examine how U.S. choices look to its allies and its adversaries, and how America’s actions affect the decisions of other states.  The Washington trip, a feature of IFP since the 1960’s, will give the class the opportunity to hear directly from current policymakers, former government officials, members of Congress and leading think-tankers and non-governmental players.  Throughout the semester, the class will also be invited to special sessions with outside speakers and team meals to further enrich their experience and help build lifetime camaraderie and professional bonds among classmates – a key goal of IFP’s founders.